The disclosed system and method relate generally to channel selection for local premises broadcasting, and relate more particularly to fast scanning of channels in a premises media to determine a suitable channel for premises broadcasting.
Electronic forms of media are ubiquitously available in a variety of forms. Some examples of forms of electronic media include video, moving images, still images, text, graphics, audio and tactile. Electronic media is generally transportable in a variety of forms as well. Some examples of electronic media transport forms are magnetic disks, optical disks, network connections, optical, RF or microwave wireless signaling. At a premises location, such as a personal residence or commercial building locale, electronic media can be presented through a number of forms and devices, including television, telephone, personal computer, radio receiver, satellite receiver, DVD player, CD player and the like, referred to collectively herein as “components.” As used herein, premises refers to a general locale of one or more buildings that may be used for any particular purpose, including a personal residence or commercial activity.
As used herein, the term “video” is intended to refer to media that may, and not necessarily, include a combination of audio and image representations, where the image representations may be frame oriented media, such as is available in the MPEG2 (Moving Pictures Expert Group) standard for coding of moving pictures and associated audio information. Thus, as used herein, video may refer to image representations, audio representations or both, where the combination of image and audio representations may correspond or be synchronized.
Distributing video in a local premises has typically been limited to channel selection of a given television connected to a video source through a coaxial cable network. With the variety and different forms of electronic media available for presentation at a premises locale, it is often a challenge to direct one form of electronic media to an arbitrary presentation device or channel. A prime example of such a challenge is directing video available at a personal computer or other component to an arbitrary premises television or channel, and in particular, to an arbitrary high definition television (HDTV) or channel.
It is generally preferable to present electronic media forms with higher fidelity than is available on a personal computer (PC). As used herein, the term PC refers to any type of personal computer, including IBM® type PCs, Apple® Macintosh PCs, and any other type of computer that is typically employed for use by an individual or defined group of individuals. When providing video as the electronic media form, which includes image and audio media, it is generally the case that preferable quality can be obtained when the video is presented on a television set rather than on a PC, especially if the television can display in high definition. As used herein, the term video is meant to include sequences of images or video frames in conjunction with audio that may or may not be synchronized with the image frames. Various sources of video are generally available in media or transport forms suitable for home video viewing, such as digital video disks (or digital versatile disks, that is, DVDs) and DVD players, cable or satellite television broadcast systems, personal computers, digital cameras, networks such as traditional telephone networks or packet switched networks such as the Internet, as well as other types of video sourcing systems, including HD video sources.
A video sourcing system gaining favor for distribution of video media involves the use of the Internet with multiple video sources being available for selection for download by a user to a PC. Typically, video monitors connected to a PC are less aesthetically pleasing in rendering video than a television set, and in particular a high definition television (HDTV) set. In addition, a PC is typically designed for use by a single person so that more than one person wishing to view video content at the same time on a PC becomes less desirable. Accordingly, while the PC generally has access to vast media sources, it is not a preferred presentation format. There is presently no readily available or simple solution for providing Internet connectivity to a conventional or high definition television.
HDTVs in particular, have become popular with homeowners for creating environments in which viewers can spend one or more hours viewing video content. For example, a “media room” that has an HDTV also typically has comfortable seating arrangements, high quality sound systems and other features that improve the experience of the media presentation. However, the transfer of media content from a PC to a media room presentation system, including high definition television and high quality audio systems, is relatively cumbersome. In addition, while a PC could be stationed in a media room to have the PC connect to an HDTV, for example, to provide a media feed to the HDTV, it is usually desirable to avoid such an arrangement. For example, having a PC in a media room can prevent the use of a PC and an HDTV or high quality audio system from being used at a same time, that is, for multiple persons. Moreover, PCs typically offer unwanted distractions, including lights, peripherals and fans that can add noise to an otherwise aesthetically pleasing media presentation environment.
Other types of media sources, including video sources, can be made available for presentation on an HDTV. For example, DVD players, satellite television receivers, digital cameras, digital video recorders and network media sources may be connected to an HDTV to permit image and audio presentations. However, a single media sourcing device or component is typically used in association with a single HDTV, so that no readily available means for selecting among a number of different media sources for presentation on a number of selected HDTVs or channels is readily available.